To The Stars
by EverKitsune
Summary: Edward has a story to tell his brother. A story of how Edward came to know Alfonse Heidrich, and how he eventually came to love him. And all the little things in between. EdwardxHeidrich. SLASH
1. Prologue

**To The Stars**

**SUMMARY: Edward has a story to tell his brother. A story of the time he was alone on the other side of the gate. A story of learning to belong in a world of dreams and tragedies. **

**WARNINGS: Homosexuality, character death, violence, swearing, OC**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not have the pleasure of owning Full Metal Alchemist. If I did, I would not be writing fanfiction about it. Please forgive me if this causes distress, but I will not be repeating the disclaimer after this chapter. **

**PAIRINGS: Edward/ Heidrich. **

**AUTHORS RAMBLE: The pairing has been set, and you have been told, so please do not comment to me about it. This is a fanfiction you see, and I am a fan. I write for simple enjoyment, and I am not getting paid (its illegal anyways.) The point is, please do not comment simply to say how much you hate the pairing, as that is what this fic is based on. **

**This is a romance, after all. It is of how Edward came to know Alfonse Heidrech, and then, eventually, how he came to love him. And all the little things in between. **

**I love constructive criticism above all. Please, reviews that are nice and long, but also contain some helpful hints are appreciated. Rants are fun to read to - rant all you want! **

**This is co-authored and edited by: Sora-chigau (please visit her!) **

**-x-**

_Prologue_

It was a beautiful, clear night in the outskirts of Munich. The star light shone down on the people of the world, blinking words eons away. They almost seemed to tease the inhabitants of earth with their shining glory, like a cat who teased a mouse before it pounced and extinguished the life of the small rodent. To the small young man who lay against the dewy grass of the hillside, they were infuriatingly annoying. He screwed up his face in an annoyed gesture and tossed his arm over his eyes, as if he couldn't take the sight of such cheerful guardians any longer.

The young man's scowl deepened and he uttered a string of profanity under his breath. He let his arm drop back against the grass once again, digging his fingers through the earth as though anchoring himself against something that only he could see. "Dammit," He uttered through clenched teeth. "Damn it Al! I can't reach the stars and beyond now." Edward Elric let a tremor pass through his body, through the aching hole in his chest that caused his distress.

His golden gaze shot toward the stars as he glared up at the twinkling beacons of light. How long? How long had Alfonse wanted to go to those stars...only to be shot down at the last minute? Right when his dream seemed like it would become a reality? What was he supposed to do now? How could he go forward in this world any longer? Without Alfonse Heidrich? Without those bright blue eyes sparkling clearer than the stars on a clear night like tonight?

He closed his eyes, weary of watching the stars that meant so much to his deceased friend. No, more than a friend. His deceased partner, the one whom he was willing to give everything to, Laws of Equivalent Exchange or no. He shivered, even though it was unusually warm for such a clear night. The numbness spread slowly from the center of his chest and spread slowly. Ever since the funeral, he had felt it growing in strength.

Was this what it was like to lose the person most precious to you? Did Gracia feel this after the death of Hughes what seemed like ages ago? Why was it so hard to wake up alone, after being together? He gave a shuddering breath. He tilted his head against the grass, allowing his bangs to fall over his eyes.

_Keep going forward. You've got legs, stand up and use them._

Edward shuddered in remembrance. It was so hard to remember the past now. Everything hurt. He just wanted to let it all stop. What was life worth without Alfonse by his side?

_Alfonse...Al...Alphonse!_

He let his mouth set in a cynical smile. Of course. His brother Al. He had to stay with Al, because without his brother, Edward would be nothing. He'd get no where in life without him. The positive ray of light shining through the cloudiness of his soul. An untempered optimistic attitude was one of the endearing characteristics that made his brother so invaluable to him.

But hell, they were both so similar!

They were both Al, had the same hairstyle, same fashion sense, and their eye color was damn near indistinguishable. If Al hadn't been returned to his ten year old body, Ed might never have been able to look at his brother the same way again.

"_Come on Ed, you know you don't believe that!" _Alfonse's voice echoed in his mind, the soft, gentle murmur of the familiar voice caressed Ed's mind in a way that he could only remember and long for. Until the end.

"_I may not live much longer...but I'll still be here." _

Edward flinched inwardly at the words. The words that plagued him every waking moment of his life. No matter what he did, no matter how he tried to forget...

"_Just don't forget me." _

Edward sat up with a start, glaring at the stars with renewed fury. "I can't alright?! I wont forget you dammit!" He shouted at the silent sky. In his fury he had leapt to his feet and an accusing finger was pointed at the sky. The angry syllables floated over the hill harmlessly, and his only response was the slight rustling of leaves in the breeze.

He plopped back onto the hill, letting his arms fall to the grass limply as he slumped against the ground, past the point of exhaustion.

"Ed!" Alphonse's youthful voice carried a hint of exasperation as it wafted over the hill, closely followed by the slightly taller figure of his younger brother. Al's pale grey eyes lit up upon seeing the shadowed form of his brother, and he grinned slightly. "There you are brother! I've been looking all over for you!" He plopped himself down next to his brother with a dazzling smile that made the older Elric's breath catch in his throat.

They were so similar, and yet they were so different. Ed's distress grew at this thought, and his hand unconsciously ripped at the grass around him in agitation.

Al noticed the change in his brother's behavior with a wave of brotherly concern. They were finally together, and yet, all his brother seemed to want to do was run away. The younger Elric was a master at reading the emotions of others, having nothing else to do for four years but study his brother's emotional crisis while he was stuck in a tin can.

"Ed, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." It didn't faze him. It was a conditioned response that his brother always gave. An automatic defense system which shielded the elder Elric from unwanted questions. Al quirked an eyebrow and waved the comment aside.

"No really brother. Did I do something wrong? Is that why your avoiding me?"

Ed's eyes widened, "What?" He whipped his head around to face his younger brother in surprise. "No! Al, you didn't do anything!"

"Then what is on your mind brother?" Al sighed at the annoyed look on his older brothers face and lowered his back to the ground, cushioning his head in his arms. He looked at the stars with a half smile on his face. "The stars are beautiful tonight brother."

Ed flinched, and his golden eyes searched the ground a moment longer in distress before he heaved a golden sigh and followed his brother to the ground. "Al..." His gaze wandered over the stars, and the hole in his chest stabbed at him with inner pain. He shook his bangs out of his eyes and set his mouth in a grim line. "I'm going to tell you a story."

"Brother?" Al's uncertain voice lilted through his ears.

"It's all right Al," Edward said, soft reassurance floating through his voice.

He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat, two full years of time with Alfonse Heidrich flashing through his eyes. He turned to his brother, a soft smile on his cheeks. "Al, the story I'm going to tell you is like one of Shakespeare's tragedies. But its also some of the best two years I ever had."

Alphonse Elric returned his brother's smile, shoving all the reassurance he could into it. "Okay brother. I'm listening."

"_To the stars..."_

"_And beyond!" _

Edward Elric's smile grew and he opened his mouth to begin his tale.

**TBC...**

**Thank you for reading. Comments? Suggestions? I'm all ears! XD**


	2. Chapter 1

**To The Stars**

**Sorry for the wait! Thank you for all your kind support everyone! Authors note at the end of the chapter!**

**-x-**

_Chapter One_

_Munich, 1921_

Edward Elric scowled as he stepped off the train, golden eyes glaring at everything and everyone on the crowded platform. What a load of nonsense that trip was. Hell, he'd never have bothered going all the way to Transylvania if he knew that Oberth had gone to Munich. He had to have missed the man by just half a day. One damn half of a day. Edward felt like tossing his briefcase to the ground and stomping on it in a fit of anger, but controlled himself - just barely. He growled as he limped away, letting out a slow hiss every time he stepped down with the old automail, which desperately required fixing. However, with the lack of good prosthetics in this world, he was pretty much doomed to limp around with a dead leg forever.

And a dead arm. He heaved a defeated sigh, setting out on the slow march back to his fathers small apartment. Each limp brought him closer towards the lecture he _knew _was waiting for him. The _I told you so _smugness. He stopped abruptly. No, the _I told you so _chant belonged to the Colonel. The back of his eyes itched as he thought of Amestris. He'd never see that "know-it-all" again. Nor would he ever see Teacher, or Rose, or Winry or anyone else again.

Or his bother.

Alphonse. Despair welled in his chest and his mind tore itself apart as he tried to figure out how an equivalent exchange could be made out of the outcome of his final transmutation that transported him to this world. Was it even remotely possible that Alphonse was alive on the other side of the gate?

Perhaps the gate sent him to this world as a prison for bothering it so much. His hand gripped his suitcase tighter as he stepped into the street and crossed the cobblestones, wobbling unsteadily on his metal leg. His teeth clenched as pain shot into his brain. He needed a new leg terribly. Another thing that tortured him in this world.

And then there were the doubles. The echoes of people that he knew in Amestris, the people that he came to value as his friends. Every time he saw one he froze up, forgetting for an instant that they weren't his trusted and loved friends. Knowing that these echoes were all that he'd ever see of his old comrades ever again made is throat uncomfortably tight.

Edward stopped, looking around at the streets confused. _Was he supposed to go right or left here? _He settled for right, when in doubt... besides, he sort of remembered the house being on that street...sort of. Scratching his head, he stepped across the street, his jumbled mind clearing slightly as he focused on the task at hand.

He couldn't get all nostalgic now, not when he hadn't even tried rocketry yet.

Edward sighed heavily.

Who was he kidding? Certainly not himself.

He knew that with the current speed of technologic advance in this world that he was never going to get home.

But he was certainly going to figure out everything before he gave up. He couldn't get up. Not when his brother could be alive on the other side of the gate.

Even if it was just the smallest chance, he was going to try it.

He just had to find that damn Oberth first. Edward looked around and groaned.

He couldn't believe it. He was lost! He let out a vicious yell and kicked the side of the building he stood next to in disbelief. Oh he'd _never _hear the end of it from Hohenheim NOW.

"Damn it..." He growled, blonde bangs scattering everywhere as he kicked the step again. The sudden fast pattering of steps toward him made him blink and look around.

"Oh! I can't believe it!"

Light blonde hair filled his eyes as the heart aching voice filled his thoughts.

No.

It couldn't be.

He took after the person with _her_ voice, flying up the stairs he had so abused and into the hospital.

There was no way. It was impossible for her to be in this world. It simply wasn't logical. He never even stopped to think that _she _would be on this side of the gate.

Winry.

_No, not her._

_It's never her. Not here. Not in this hell. _

Nevertheless, his feet carried him when his mind could not, lost in memories of childhood and laughter.

He felt feelings that he couldn't even begin to describe.

A small part of him wondered what he was doing. He couldn't answer.

Another part wondered where she was going. He didn't know.

Another part wondered - _Do you still love her? _But it already knew the answer.

The other Winry stopped suddenly in front of a room, and Edward's shoes nailed to the floor.

What if she was a wraith? An apparition like the ones he had about his brother all the time? Was he dreaming? Could he have fallen asleep on the train or something? No, his foot was throbbing, so that couldn't be it.

Then it must be her. Her, or an illusion.

He almost took a step but stopped. Did he really want to see another phantom image?

Another heartbreak?

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU AL!" Ed was jerked out of his thoughts by her shrill voice and outwardly flinched. How often had he been on the receiving end of that anger? He gave his sympathy to whoever was in his shoes now.

"I'm sorry Winifred," A soft baritone voice replied, a cough disturbing the words slightly. "I guess I just got too caught up in my work."

"I TOLD you NOT to call me that!"

"Right, sorry."

Ed edged a little closer to the open door, the wheels in his mind slowly working his limbs into action.

"Anyway Al, you promised that you wouldn't over exert yourself again while you were recovering from that cold!"

Ed's eyes widened in disbelief. _Did she just say Al? _His legs leapt into action and he was staring into the room in half a second. His eyes first alighted on the Winry look-a-like's hair, and then her gentle feature's twisted into that half concerned, half angry look she often wore. Then his eyes traveled down to the brown overcoat she wore trailed on the ends of the bright yellow skirt half hiding the thick leather boots. Then they traveled to the person who was angled away from him, sitting on a hospital bed.

"I'm sorry Win," the person was saying, "You know how I get when rockets are concerned-"

"Who are you?" The Winry lookalike stated, staring at Edward with bright blue eyes. The other person turned his own blue eyes around to stare at him as well.

And he froze.

It couldn't have been...it just couldn't have been..."Alphonse?" His voice choked out, before his vision clouded in a spiral of disbelief and he fell to the floor unconscious.

**TBC...**

**Sorry for the small length...they'll get longer eventually...**

**No, ALTERWinry x Ed is not the main pairing. Nor is ALTERWinry x Heidrich a pairing. At least not a permanent one. She's just a character that will make the plot more interesting I love and hate love triangles! They make a plot go round! **

**Please review! I know you want to! **


	3. Chapter 2

**To the Stars**

_Chapter Two_

Edward's return to consciousness was a slow one. He lay on something fluffy, although something was digging into his back slightly, it was not altogether uncomfortable. He found that he didn't really want to move, enjoying the luxury bestowed upon him. He did not relish the return of his thoughts, so he held them off for as long as he could. However there was the weight of something next to him that made his eyes flicker open. And immediately all thoughts returned in full force.

He was in a bed in a hospital apparently. Edward wondered briefly if it was the same hospital he had been in earlier. However that question was abruptly answered, as well as the question of what the weight on his bed was. A young man with short cropped blonde hair lay slumped over the bed, and although he was sleeping, an exhausted look still managed to creep into the edges of his face.

_Alphonse._ His mind whispered, and he reached out with his flesh hand tentatively and touched it against the young man's cheek. The slumbering man stirred, and Ed yanked his hand away as though burnt.

The Alphonse look-a-like blinked his eyes blearily and looked around sleepily, starting when he saw Edward awake and well. "Oh, um, h-hello!" He sat up quickly, a faint blush crossing his features at being caught snoozing. The golden eyed young man could only stare at the "clone" in disbelief.

Alfonse stared at the shocked young man and squirmed under the golden gaze. He couldn't quite place it, but he could swear that those eyes were vaguely familiar, like from a dream perhaps. "I'm sorry - My name is Alfonse Heidrich, and you're a Mister Edward Elric, am I right?" The golden eyed boy across from him could only manage a faint nod at his name. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard that you were very well thought of before you left the university here at Munich."

Edward shook himself out of his stupor and raised an eyebrow at the taller man. "You've heard of me...?"

Alfonse smiled widely, and Edwards heart wrenched at the happy expression on his face. "Yes, I'm studying rocketry. They said that you had some interesting idea's that would be worth looking in to."

Edward shook his head to erase his the numbing shock that made its way up into his overworked mind, "I am studying rocketry, but I've come up short. None of my theories would work. I've been trying to get a hold of Doctor Oberth for a while now, but I can't seem to track him down."

Alfonse blinked and then gave a short spout of laughter, "Oberth? Well that's lucky, I've been learning from him for a while! He's going to be giving a speech on rocketry at the university, and then he's taking off again. He arrived on oh, lets see - the day you collapsed in front of Winifred and I."

Edward blinked, "'The day?'" He echoed, and then shoved the thin covers aside to get up. "How long was I out?!"

Alfonse shrugged, "Three days. The doctors said you had over exerted yourself and needed to catch up on rest."

Edward hissed through his teeth, "Like hell I need rest!" He made to take a step but the sudden absence of support from his left leg made him collapse to the ground with a strangled shout of surprise. He sat up and stared at the empty stump of his leg in disbelief.

"Wha-What happened to my leg?"

The other person in the room looked slightly uncomfortable and shifted slightly under the glare that was tossed his way. Al coughed slightly and ran a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at the crumpled form on the ground. "Well, they had to detach it, because it was tearing up the stump of your leg. They didn't want gangrene to form."

Edward leveled a menacing glare at the bandaged stump of a leg before grabbing the side of the bed for support and lifting himself up. "Well that's just peachy." He growled through clenched teeth, using the bed, the wall, and the doorframe for support as he came up level next to Alfonse. "I need my clothes and my leg, and then I'm going to show that Oberth what I think of him running off on me!"

"Hey wait! You can't leave now! You're not well yet!"

The taller boy grabbed the back of the short man's hospital shirt in an attempt to stop him. Edward yelped at the sudden action and fell off balance, knocking both men to the floor. Edward grunted as he smacked his head hard against the small end table next to the door and bed. The fact that he had just been stalled by a look-a-like of his brother pissed him off even more. He swivelled his head to berate the man but the words died on his lips.

Their noses were mere millimeters away from each other. Edward could feel the blue eyed man's breath brush against his skin, and it made is skin tremor for some reason he couldn't place. The crystal blue eyes looked back at him, mirroring his own surprise. Edward shivered, shoving himself away from the man with more mental difficulty than he thought necessary. His heartbeat...Edward shivered unintentionally. He could feel the steady pulse of the other man, they had been so close. They both stared at each other for what could have easily been hours, before the husky sound of Alfonse coughing rose them both out of their stupor.

"Wh-" Edwards voice didn't seem to want to work. He cleared his throat and wet his lips before talking again. "What did you do that for?" He growled in false anger, leveling a glare at the other Alfonse. The younger man tried to answer but the coughing still hadn't subsided. Edward's brow creased in concern. "Hey, you alright?" Alphonse grabbed the partially full water glass from the table Ed had collided with just moments before and took a few desperate gulps.

"I'm fine," Alfonse murmured huskily, leaning against the wall in relief, face partially flushed. Ed let out a derisive snort and raised a skeptical eyebrow before making his way to his feet - foot - again. Edward brushed hair out of his eyes with his flesh hand and supported himself with his other arm.

"I'm sure. And pigs can fly right?" He ignored the confused glance that was sent his way and out his hands on his hips, balancing out his weight to his one leg. "Well, you going to answer my question?"

Alfonse looked at him in mild confusion, rising to join the sorter man on his feet. "You still need to rest."

Edward's scowl grew, "Like hell I do, what is this, 'Make sure Ed doesn't do anything stupid world or something?' You all turn into the Major or something?" Now Al was really confused, and his face showed it. Ed ignored it, he knew he wouldn't understand.

"Were you in the army?" Alfonse asked, _that would explain the missing limbs, however..._ "No, you can't have been. You're too young, you couldn't have been in the war." Edward's smirk made him not so sure. "Edward, how old are you?"

"I'll be seventeen soon," Edward said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Oh, uh...is that so?" Alfonse scratched at the back of his neck hesitantly, "I thought you were about fourteen..."

Edward snapped. "WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' SO SMALL YOU SMACKED INTO WITH A CAR 'CUZ YOU THOUGHT HE WAS AN ANT?!?!" Alfonse felt his eyes go big at the informal outburst and gave a squeak of surprise.

"I-I didn't say that!"

"YOU SURE AS HELL WERE THINKIN' IT!!!!!" Edward aimed a swing at him but toppled into the German boy's chest instead. Edward lay there for a second, slumped against the boy's form and gripping the white shirt securely.

Alfonse didn't know what to think of this sudden change in personality, putting a hesitating hand on the small man's shoulder. "Uh, Edward? What is it?"

"You smell like him."

Alfonse blinked in confusion, "What? Who?"

"My brother."

"Oh, what happened to him?"

"I lost him." The utter agony in Edward's voice startled Alfonse and tossed all the kindness in the young German boy's heart to the surface.

"I'm sorry..." His hands closed and unclosed in helpless fists, and he put an awkward hand on Edward's shoulder. Ed half jerked away at the touch but then raised his eyes to stare into the cerulean pools of Alfonse's own eyes.

He could tell how near the breaking point Edward was, how close tears threatened to fall. And for some reason, Al wrapped the boy he had known only for about half an hour securely into his arms, right there in the hospital room, ignoring the fact that his back was uncomfortably digging into a table. Alfonse felt a strange need to keep Edward Elric safe, and the thoughts just confused him all the more.

**TBC...**

**Re-posted. There was a problem. I was bad, and accidentally deleted all my beta's hard work (I'm so sorry!) So I tried to do it myself. Which would be why it took so long to re-post...that and a research paper. -grumble, grumble-**


	4. Chapter 3

**To The Stars**

_Chapter Three_

"Oh wow! This is your arm?! Fantastic! Look at the workmanship on this thing!" Winifred squealed, hugging Edwards arm to her body and twirling around in excitement.

Edward was still locked up in the hospital, much to his chagrin. However he had managed to sneak out with Alfonse's unwilling help. Ed had to promise the taller boy that after they went to see Oberth he wouldn't leave or try to escape again until the doctor claimed him fully rested.

Not that he was really getting any rest at the moment.

"Hey! Don't take that apart!" Ed yelled, waving his one attached arm up and down frantically as Winifred Rumsfield examined the joints of his automail with a very familiar hungry expression.

She was sitting at the end of his bed, with a cart pulled up in front of her. On the cart she had piled prints and drawings, as well as tools and other odd things. She swung her leg back and forth freely. Her white skirt moved like an impatient summer breeze with every movement. Her pink and white blouse showed off the fairness of her features. Her blue eyes danced with unveiled happiness, and her hair - which she had tied into a bun behind her head - shone in the artificial hospital light.

"Edward Elric, whoever made this really knew what they were doing! Oh, I can't believe your letting me study this!"

"I'm not." Edward ground out between his teeth, watching the girl study the complex inter workings.

"Oh! Brilliant! It attaches to your nerves? I didn't know such technology even existed!"

Edward twisted helplessly in his seat, watching the other Winry look a like tear apart one of the last ties he had to Amestris. _'It doesn't.' _He wanted to shout, even though he knew it was beyond his power to do so.

"Ed, guess what! I might be able to help your dad make a new arm and leg for you! No where as beautiful as this one, but it should work just as well!"

Winifred's eyes danced with happiness and pride, and she failed to note the anxiety on his face and the total discomfort in his eyes.

"Huh?" Was all the boy managed to say before the door swung open and Alfonse entered with Hohenheim trailing behind.

"Hi Edward." Alfonse smiled, "Win," He noted the pieces of the arm with a raised eyebrow.

But Edward wasn't paying any attention what so ever to Alfonse. His golden gaze had narrowed in on Hohenheim and hadn't left the man's gruff face.

"You." His voice shot like a bullet, and the ice in his eyes brought the room temperature down a bit.

"Hello Edward," Hohenheim smiled slightly, seemingly oblivious to the death glare he was receiving. "When I found you had gotten yourself in the hospital, I rushed right over. The doctor said you were suffering from mild symptoms of malnutrition and over exhaustion. Edward, what am I going to do with you?"

Edward sneered. "Nothing, I can take care of myself, I have been for years." If Hohenheim was hurt by this, the old man failed to show it.

The man shrugged, "Well, at the moment I believe you might want a bit of help, seeing as you cannot walk and you have one arm. And as your father, I would be glad to do so."

"Winifred and I will do our best to help as well," Alfonse said quietly, "We couldn't just leave him alone, seeing as he fainted in front of us."

"Ah, so that's why." Hohenheim nodded, as though he had just confirmed a theory that he knew was correct in the first place.

Edward scowled, "So what are you doing here anyway _Dad?_"

Hohenheim smiled, "Well, seeing as you shall be relieved of the hospital, and in need of new limbs, I came to collect your prosthetics and check your growth, to see if you have grown."

"That's it?" Edward raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Well no!" Hohenheim scooped his son up in a bear like hug. "I had to make sure you were alright!" He discreetly slipped a sheet of paper into Ed's pocket, out of view from the other two in the room. "I hope you don't get lost on your way home again! Last time you got lost you ended up here!"

"Wait, you aren't going to come pick me up?"

Hohenheim chuckled, "Why Ed, I thought you said you were a big boy." The man nodded his head to Alfonse and Winifred and left. His whistling could be heard all down the hallway.

Edward waited until the man's whistling had disappeared, then he abruptly gave a shout of indignation and threw his pillow at the wall. "Damn that condescending bastard!" He howled, and the other two stared at him in shock.

"Ed, you shouldn't talk about your father like that." Al cried, and the edge in his voice stopped Edwards outburst with a jolt.

Edward scowled. "Like you would know! That man leaves mom and my brother and I all alone and suddenly expects us to welcome him with open arms! Never! I'll never accept it - especially when–" his rampage stopped abruptly, the old memories resurfacing and tossing him back into a fit of despair.

Alfonse seemed to understand the pain that Ed had almost let flood out, and he reached a warm hand out to let it rest on Edward's shoulder. Winifred however, scowled and wagged the limp automail arm at his head.

"Oh _please,_" She sniffed, "Get over it Edward. It's not like you can change the past."

The carelessly said words drove a knife into Edwards heart, and the golden haired boy choked on the breath he had drawn in. For a split second he looked so vunerable and helpless, but then it was gone again, hidden under layers of self defense and hard learned lessons.

"What would _you _know about my past?" He growled. "It's not like you ever wanted anything you couldn't have!"

Winifred gave a small scream of indignation, swinging off the bed in a flurry of movement. Her blonde hair caught in the light as always. She put her hands on her hips and leaned down until she was staring straight into his eyes.

"You're right Edward Elric." The venom in her voice made Edward flinch automatically. "But YOU are just a short, little pipsqueak with no manners whatsoever, so I suppose one could say that you've never had what you wanted."

Edward flushed with anger and he snapped under the insults. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BUM WITH NO HOME AND SO SHORT EVEN A **DOG **DOESN'T SMELL HIM?!?!?!"

He tried to raise himself out of the bed but Alfonse wrapped his arms around the shorter boy to stop him from injuring anyone including himself. Edward took one look at his half annoyed, half angry, but mostly concerned face and let himself go limp.

Winifred had gathered up her things in a huff and stomped out of the room, limb still in hand. "Edward Elric, you are a jerk, I don't even know why I should HELP you!" She stated angrily before leaving, and her heels were heard much like Hohenheim's whistling, echoing down the hospital hall long after she was gone herself.

The two boys sat there for a long time, Al didn't withdraw his arms, and Ed never pulled away either. The question in Alfonse's eyes as he looked into Edward's own was unbearable, and the shorter lad was startled to find himself trembling with grief, exhaustion, and something completely foreign to him, excepting a few times with Winry Rockbell.

After a while more of this thing that neither of them could place – this wholeness they had suddenly felt – Alfonse started to slip his arms away from Edward, but his hand was caught by nimble fingers.

"Ed?" He asked uncertainly, startled to find himself trembling with something he couldn't understand.

"I want to tell you a story Al."

In Edwards golden eyes, which Alfonse found himself lost in time and time again, flashed something that spoke volumes. Edward let himself fall backwards, through the gate, and deep into the memories, some good, a few happy, and many terribly ones that still clawed at him and ravaged at his guilt trodden mind and soul.

His breath staggered when he remembered his mother, kind and good, and full of a warm light that only she had. And then on that fateful day, so long ago now, when she met her death. His mind traversed through scores and scores of journey's, lessons and hardship he and his brother had shared.

He bit back a sob as his mind halted at the human transmutation attempt which brought so much suffering. But they were also the best four years of his life, and the most painful. His thoughts wandered over Elicia and Hughes and his wife Gracia, who had all taught them so much. He bit his lip then, because he would never get that chance to visit them again.

His thoughts turned to that damn Colonel Mustang in a flash, and the rest of his gang. Had the colonel even survived? Why did thought of the man suddenly streak a white hot stroke of sorrow across his heart when he had hated him so much. Edward had to stop himself from thinking that, as he knew that the Colonel was almost the father he never had.

Alfonse squeezed Edwards hand and brought him back to the surface with a few murmured words that Ed never heard.

When Edward tried to talk, no sound came out. So he wet his dry lips and forced out some words. "I can't tell it now Al..."

Alfonse nodded, and in his vast blue eyes Edward saw understanding and something else.

Something that he could not describe, no matter how hard he tried to grope for what it was.

The comforting pressure of Al's hand left his own as the look-a-like-Alphonse gathered his things. "Well Ed, I'll see you tomorrow after classes with Oberth." Al said lightly, mentioning Oberth's name to try and get Ed out of his haunting stupor but didn't get so much as a batted eyelash as the golden wide eyes stared at him in wonder. "Well, good night Ed." He flicked off the light and closed the door partway, and Ed was left alone.

The long haired boy fell back against his bed, a pain he didn't recognize swelling in his chest. It was impossible for him to feel for Alfonse Heidrich, wasn't it? Because unless he was mistaken, Ed was experiencing someone had once described to him as...

_Love._

**TBC...**

**Sorry it took so long to get this up guys! I honestly hate research papers! They should be banished from the earth! But now its done, and I can finally sleep, and more importantly, update again! WHOO! I hope you guys like this chapter. I'm a bit concerned that its going too fast though...hmm... We'll find out what the note says soon enough! **

**Please review with your comments and thoughts! Love you all!**


	5. Chapter 4

**To the Stars**

_Chapter Four_

_Ding Dong._

The deliberately loud sound of the doorbell tore Edward out of his book abruptly. He blinked around his room in slight confusion, looking for the source of the sound. "Dad! The door!" He shouted, resettling himself in his comfy chair to read once more.

_Ding Dong._

Scowling with annoyance, he slammed his book shut and hefted himself to his feet. Wobbling slightly on the temporary new leg his father created, he stuck his head out of the door to his room. "Dad!" His voice shared the annoyance on his face as he stepped into the hallway and marched down the small hallway to stick his head into his fathers office. "Dad?"

Empty. Had Hohenheim left while Ed was reading? Didn't anyone tell him anything anymore? Edward scowled and hauled himself down the stairs as the consistent 'ding dong' of the door bell refused to stop. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" He shouted, pulling the door open with a loud snap.

"What?" He asked with an irritated scowl, looking up slightly to meet the gaze of an overly excited Winifred Rumsfeild.

"Oh Ed! Guess what?!" She invited herself in, dropping a heavy looking case to the ground. He gave a bemused look but followed her in, closing the door behind himself.

"What is that?" He asked, pointing to the case, his curiosity getting the better of him.

She barely bit back a happy squeal, her bright yellow curls bouncing as she moved her head. She clicked the case open and lifted the lid, revealing the workings of a prosthetic arm. "I got pretty far in making it. All I need is your Dad's help to finish." She said in a no-nonsense tone. "Is he here?"

Edward shook his head. "No, I don't know where he went, he just ran off somewhere." He put his one hand on his hip and looked at the arm with a slightly raised eyebrow. "You sure this thing will work? It looks like scrapped together pieces of metal and gears..."

Winifred glared at him sharply, making him gulp and laugh nervously. He scratched his head before motioning to the couch. "Whatever, I don't understand this stuff. You might as well take a seat on the couch...I'll make you tea or something." He said awkwardly, moving towards the kitchen.

Edward moved around the kitchen with practiced ease, surprisingly good at cooking one handed. In moments he had placed a steaming cup of tea cup before her on the table. "Careful, it's kind of hot."

"Um...Thank-you Edward." She said, still surprised. "I've never known a man very good in the kitchen before." She took a hesitant sip and then pulled back sharply. "Its hot!"

Edward rolled his eyes. "I told you it was!" He scolded, "Listen to people when they talk to you!"

"Sorry, not every word people say is worth listening to!" She spat back, taking another sip of the scalding liquid and wincing as it burned her tongue. "But the tea is very good."

Edward chuckled, letting himself drop onto the couch beside her and draping his arm over the side. "Well, as they say, alchemy was born in the kitchen." His eyes widened, realizing his mistake a moment too late.

"Alchemy?" Winifred asked, confused.

He sucked in a breath, eyes glancing at her curious, but not contradictory features. "Yeah...It's a science that involves the matter of destruction and reconstruction, and equivalent exchange from my home country."

Winifred set the cup down with a confused look on her face. Edward was keeping his head turned away from her so she couldn't see his expression. "Hmm, now that you mention it, where do you come from? I've never heard an accent like your's before. It's not really English, or American, and its definitely not German or any other country I've heard of."

His shoulders tensed. "You probably wouldn't have, its no where near here."

"Then where is it? Asia? Africa? You could at least tell me the name!" She prodded, picking up the tea once more and blowing on it.

He scowled, turning around to face her, his ponytail whipping around as he moved. "Just forget it! It doesn't matter!"

She glared back at him her eyes glinting with hard headed stubbornness. "Of course it matters! Are you some criminal or something afraid of being discovered?"

"No!" Edward's voice rose until he was almost shouting. "Why do you want to know?!"

"Oh come on!" Winifred goaded. "Your such an enigma! Al and I have known you for a long while and all we know about you is that you're sixteen, live with your father, and have a horrible attitude!"

Edward glared, "I do not! Nothing is wrong with my attitude! I'm just me!"

"You're rude, obnoxious, and you yell at girls!"

"So what! You yelled at me first!" Edward shouted, hand balling into a fist.

"I don't know where you are from Edward, but in this country, when you meet a woman you're supposed to be polite to her!"

"Why would anyone want to be polite to a spoiled brat like you?!" Edward grit out sharply. There was just no way that this girl could be Winry.

"See! Rude! Just like I said!" She huffed, "I don't even know why I put up with you Edward!"

The other teen was about to respond but was interrupted by the creak of the front door as it opened.

"Oh dear, Edward, are you two fighting again?" Hohenheim asked, holding a bag of groceries in one hand, with the door handle in the other and a news paper tucked under his arm.

"There you are!" Edward shouted, jumping up and pointing at Winifred accusingly. "She's been waiting for you. Where did you go anyway?"

Van Hohenheim set the paper on the table and placed the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter. Patiently leaving his shoes by the door and hanging his coat on the hook. Edward dogged his footsteps angrily. The old man ignored him, putting away the groceries carefully and slowly.

Edward finally had enough. "Dammit you old man, do you have to do everything so slowly?!" He burst out in frustrated impatience.

Hohenheim frowned. "Now Edward, don't rush me. I'm an _old man _and must be respected." He put the last item away in the cupboard and turned to face his eldest son. "Now, what is it?"

"I can't take it!" Edward exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table. "They all look too similar! Why do you keep having her come over?"

The old man sighed heavily, the weight of the world had caused his shoulders to slump. "Now, now Ed, how else would you get your arm to work without her help?" He tapped the young man's head. "She has the same skills as your old friend. In fact, she's probably seen automail in her dreams. She is connected to Pinako's granddaughter after all."

Edward stared at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?" He rounded the kitchen table and stared up at his father with a haunted expression. "What do you mean, connected?"

Hohenheim ruffled his son's hair. "Dreams Edward. We are all connected somehow, to our parallel selves."

Winifred entered the kitchen just then, lugging her suitcase of Edward's new arm behind her. "Mr. Elric!" She lifted the heavy thing onto the table and opened it to show the elderly man. "I was wondering if you could help me finish this. I've got the handle on most of this, but I couldn't understand exactly how the pulley system could interact with his arm to make it move..."

Edward drifted out of the room, mind stuffed full of information. Was that really all they were? Was this whole world just a dream? What about the people inside of it? Were they just echoes of the people he knew so well in Amestris? His odd footsteps plunked up the steps and he hardly noticed when he sat back down in his stuffy rocking chair.

He picked up his book but set it down a moment later, distracted by thoughts. If Winifred had dreams of Winry, could that possibly mean that Alfonse would have dreams of his brother if he were alive? He stood so abruptly that he knocked over his end table with a loud crash, the books balancing on it tumbling after it. Edward paid it no mind, dashing down the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him, pausing only to grab his long brown coat and shove his only arm through the left sleeve.

The door slammed shut behind him and he leapt the few steps to the road, his mind preoccupied by his thoughts.

"Edward?" He stopped in his tracks, spinning on the heel of his foot and staring at his father's land lady with a lost look on his face.

"Gracia," He gasped voice suddenly raspy.

"Oh my, Ed, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" She smiled tenderly, wiping a lock of her honey brown hair out of her face. She stood from where she had been arranging her flowers and looked at him with concern. "Would you like to come inside?"

Edward shook his head, "No, I'm in a hurry." He awkwardly shifted. "Uh, Gracia? Have you ever had dreams about you being in another world or something like that?"

Gracia frowned. "Dreams are always like that Ed, they are our own private worlds."

Edward nodded, turning to go. "Thanks Gracia." He took off again, heart swelling with hope. His feet carried him to the university, where Alfonse spent most of his time.

He asked directions from a few students before he finally found the familiar blonde haired boy, leaning against the wall and chatting with a few other students talking animatedly about rocketry.

"Al!" He shouted, dashing over to his brother's look alike. "Alfonse!" He gasped, "I have to talk to you about something!" He wheezed, holding a hand to his chest while he tried to catch his breath.

Alfonse's cheeks tinged with pink. "Uh, Hi Edward," He looked to his other friends. "I'll talk to you guys later, okay?" He waved at them before he was dragged away by the impatient Elric.

The sun was setting by the time Edward reached a place he decided to be secluded enough to talk. He had dragged the college student down to the clear lake. The last of the suns rays glittered from the surface like shards of glass. The lush hills and far away mountains in the background met their reflection in the lake, the image disrupted from slight rippling of the wind.

Alfonse looked at the lake in something akin to awe. "Wow...is this what you wanted to show me Ed?"

Edward glanced at the lake impatiently. "No." He grabbed Alfonse's arm with his one hand, dragging him down until he could look into his eyes. "Have you ever dreamt of a boy called Alphonse Elric in a place called Amestris before?" He didn't notice the blush that tore across the German boy's features as his breath wafted onto his face at the close proximity.

"What?" Alfonse asked confused. "How would you know what I dream Ed?"

Edwards heart jolted and skipped about five beats. His hold strengthened on the arm as he dragged him so close their noses were almost touching. "You mean you have?" He gasped. "When?"

Alfonse gasped, staring into Edward's intoxicating golden eyes. "Ed, I...I'm not sure, A few years ago maybe. All I remember is that there was a suit of armor and the back of a boy with blonde hair and a red jacket with a strange symbol on it." He raised his free hand and drew it roughly in the air.

Edward gasped sharply and pulled him so close that he could feel the intertwined heartbeats. "Don't lie." He rasped. "Tell me you aren't lying Al."

"I..I'm not lying Ed. That's what was there."

"Have you had any of these dreams recently?" Edward asked, heartbeat rising against Alfonse's calmer one.

Alfonse flushed crimson. "I'm not sure...my dreams haven't been of that sort of thing for a long time." He looked down at Edward, pulse flaring under his grip. "Uh..Ed..I," He dipped his head down and brushed his lips against the tan skin of his cheek

Edward gasped, shocked out of his thoughts and pushed their bodies flying apart finally. Edward lifted a hand to his cheek and felt to spot Alfonse had kissed. It tingled against his skin, spreading an unusual warmth through his body, starting at the point of contact and continuing until everything buzzed with it. "Al?"

Alfonse had flushed a deeper color than he would have not imagined possible. Edward watched the other boy, confused for a moment as the boy looked out at the lake. It had turned dark during Ed's interrogation, and now the full moon's reflection off the lake made the earlier reflection all the more vivid.

He grabbed Ed's hand suddenly and dragged him into the water. Edward yelped as the cold smacked into him. "Al! What are you doing?!" He shouted, and it echoed around them.

"Look," Alfonse said, pointing to the reflections in the water. "Everything has two faces." He muttered. Edward sucked in a breath, afraid to let it out.

"..No way.." He breathed, reaching out his hand to touch the reflections, only disrupting the image further. He yanked his hand back out of the way. "Two worlds..." He muttered.

Alfonse smiled, "Even though one of them is fake, it doesn't mean it isn't the same." Edward gaped at the other boy. It was obvious that Alfonse didn't know the whole story, that Ed really did come from another world that he knew was real. However real this world seemed to him, Edward never felt like he belonged. Perhaps he really was walking in a dream.

He looked away suddenly, glancing up at the bright moon. "That.. " He couldn't talk anymore. Tears slipped out of his golden eyes and slid down his face, reflecting the pale moonlight as they fell.

"Ed? Are you crying?" Alfonse asked, incredulous. He glimpsed sight of the tears shattering ripples into the water's reflection and grasped for Edwards hand, bringing him back to Earth. "Come on, don't cry, please?" He breathed.

Edward's breath caught in his throat. The way Alfonse looked at that moment...the pale moon glinted off the golden strands of hair perfectly, and enhanced the blue eyes until they were all Edward could see.

He had moved next to him before he knew it, dragging Alfonse forward until they were brushed against each other again. Edward raised his lips to the other boy's and had kissed the soft blue lips under the starry night.

**TBC...**


	6. Chapter 5

**To the Stars**

**Disclaimer is in the first chapter.**

_Chapter Five_

"Its finished!" Winifred gasped as soon as the door opened. Her cheeks were pink from happiness and autumn chill. "The arm!"

"Really?" Hohenheim asked, stepping aside to let her and Alfonse - who was carrying the rather heavy case and trying to keep his school books from falling at the same time. "That's wonderful Winifred!"

"Don't call me that Professor!" Her words were demeaning but they held none of the usual sting. "I finally figured out what I was missing! It came to me in a dream and when I woke up I knew exactly what to do!"

"Well, lets have a look," Hohenheim chuckled, relieving Alfonse of his burden and hefting it over to the kitchen table. The young college student thanked him breathlessly and leaned against the side of the wall to catch his breath.

Edward came the down the stairs with the usual uneven steps, his vest open and unbuttoned - as though he hadn't had the patience to accomplish the tedious task of not looking like a slob. Alfonse chuckled softly, though it didn't reach his eyes for some reason. "Ed you really are hopeless aren't you?"

Edward raised an eyebrow as he descended the final steps, "Hey Al, I haven't heard from you guys for a week, what's going on?"

Alfonse shrugged slightly, "Oh, this and that. How was your week then?"

Edward shook his head slightly, "Yeah, fine." He looked towards the kitchen where his father and Winifred were busy with the final kinks of his arm. "Its almost done?"

Al smiled, "Technically it IS done."

Edward's head whipped back towards him so fast his neck cracked. "Seriously?!" At Alfonse's nod he rushed into the kitchen. "Let me see! C'mon old man!" Hohenheim had seen him coming and had conveniently moved so that Edward couldn't get past. Alfonse's laughter coming from behind him made the excited young man blush.

Hohenheim looked around behind him. "Oh dear! I'm so sorry Edward, I didn't _see _you there. How neglectful of me."

"I'll kill you old man!" Edward's exclamation made everyone dissolve into laughter.

"Finiiiished!" Winifred cried, and an eager Edward pushed Hohenheim forcefully out of the way.

"Finally!" He shouted, looking the arm over with awe. It may have been filled with gears and wires, but it was the nearest thing Edward was going to get to automail these days.

"Now Ed, if you need extra power in the joints, to lift something or brawl, just pull on this here." She instructed, pointing to a pulley at the elbow. "It should rev up the arm joints and make them perform faster and with more power." She took out a glove that looked like skin - if a little paler than his tan skin. "Put this over the arm in order to hide the mechanical stuff."

"Now, now," Hohenheim sighed, "Lets deal with making sure it works properly before we get to far ahead of ourselves, shall we?" He suggested. "Ed take off your shirt."

Edward complied, taking longer than usual to unbutton his inner shirt out of eagerness. Now it was Alfonse's turn to blush as he stared at the muscles of Edward's chest. A nasty scar that looked like a puncture wound stood out on his chest. It looked like it could have gone through his chest, but Alfonse couldn't tell from where he stood. On the right shoulder there scars and bolt holds from the old arm port the doctors had removed (which found its new home in Winifred's home). Various other nasty scars covered his chest and his flesh arm.

Al bit his lip to keep the influx of questions that suddenly popped up from ruining Edward's good mood and instead twirled the ring on his finger unconsciously and watching Ed's happy face absently.

"Okay Ed, ready?" Winifred asked after she fit the new port straps across his chest. Edward watched her hands quickly buckle the leather straps to his chest, noting the glint of a ring on her finger. She picked up the arm with a happy smile. "The moment we have all been waiting for has arrived!"

Edward laughed nervously and gripped the table with his hand apprehensively for the pain of the nerves connecting together. He clenched his teeth and clenched his eyes tightly closed. He waited with vague impatience for the pain to come. A long moment passed and a streak of annoyance passed through him. He opened his eyes and lifted his head to glare at Winifred. "Can we just get this over with?"

Winifred looked at him with annoyance. "Ed, I already connected the arm." She pointed to the prosthetic attached to his shoulder. "Try lifting the skin glove with that arm." She said, holding the glove stretched between her hands and exchanging a confused glance with Alfonse. "This is no time for your weirdness."

He stared at her. "You must be kidding." He looked at his new arm. "Where's the pain?"

"What pain?" Winifred asked.

"The pain!" Edward said, exasperated. Why it was bothering him he couldn't begin to guess. Perhaps it was the difference that it suddenly seemed to give Winifred and Winry. "Its supposed to hurt!" Anxiety rose in his chest suddenly.

"You want to be in pain? Are you a masochist?" Winifred asked raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"No!" Edward frowned, looking back down at the arm. "Sorry, its just odd." He focused on the fingers and made them flick. It felt like his arm was asleep and would never wake up. He raised it up to shoulder level and clumsily moved it to pick up the glove that was still in Winifred's hands. A grin broke out across his face and Winifred clapped in delight. Hohenheim chuckled and Alfonse's smile became much less strained.

"Well done Miss Rumsfeild," Hohenheim smiled, patting her shoulder with his large hand and handing her a cup of warm tea. "Thank you very much for all your hard work."

"Oh! It's no problem Professor!" Winifred said, "Thank you for the opportunity!" She took a seat at the table across from Hohenheim and dove into a conversation.

Edward slipped the flesh colored glove on and pulled on his shirt, fascinated by the strange workings of the arm. He slipped his shirt back on and buttoned the cuffs of his sleeves. He buttoned up his shirt and vest carefully, using his right arm as much as possible. When he had finished he raised his eyes to meet Alfonse's with a confident smirk. "How do I look Al?"

Alfonse smiled and reached up to fix the collar of Edward's shirt. "You always make this crooked somehow." He stepped back and surveyed the outfit. A faded green vest and white button up shirt, brown slacks and shoes and long hair tied up into a pony tail made Edward look very smart. "Huh, all you need now is a pocket watch." He grinned. "And maybe a haircut."

Edward grinned, "A pocket watch huh? Why do you say that?"

Alfonse shrugged and laughed lightly. "I don't know, I just picture you with one."

Ed crinkled his nose. "Maybe if the inflation ever goes down I will."

Alfonse opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Winifred's loud bubbly voice from the kitchen. "Al and I are engaged! Our parents decided that seeing we're good friends and our families are both Aryan, we should marry to 'preserve the Aryan blood' or something like that!"

Edward's heart skipped a beat and his eyes narrowed on the ring on Al's hand. "So that's what it is." His voice sounded stretched, like it took to much effort for him to make words. "That's what's been bothering you. Why you haven't been around." His eyes flashed angrily. "Why Al?!" Edward shouted, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"

Alfonse winced at the noise and felt the painful sensation in his throat and swallowed it down. "There's nothing to tell Ed. Our parents are having us marry. We're from the Aryan race and all the pure blooded families are going on about it now. Our parents included."

Edward grabbed the collar of Al's shirt and dragged him forward until they were nose to nose. "That's no excuse!" He growled, "Who gives a damn what your parents say!"

"Ed," Alfonse said quietly, his voice soft if a little strained. "I have a duty to fulfill my parents wishes. It doesn't matter in the end who I love. Do you really think they'd let me marry you?" He laughed bitterly. "I don't know what world you come from Ed, but it doesn't all revolve around you. You've never felt a duty to anyone but yourself." He pried Edward's fingers from the collar of his shirt and sent him a small smile.

Edward let his fingers fall from Alfonse's collar, instead pinning him to the wall. "How do you know where I place my duties?!" He snarled, thinking of the forbidden topic of his past - his brother Al. For so long he had tried to keep from thinking of him, how he was probably gone forever, and only concentrating on trying to get back to Amestris by any futile means necessary. That was his duty. To get out of this cage of a dream world and back to his world.

"Hey guys, what're you doing?" Winifred bounced into the room with a smile like the sun on her face and light in her hair. "Ed, how's the arm?" She stopped, looking from Edward to Alfonse, the smile sliding off her face to be replaced by a wary look. "What's wrong? Why are you two fighting?"

Alfonse looked at Edward's suddenly heartbroken face and felt his heart soften. He wanted to hug the broken shoulders and make all the hurt inside disappear. "Sorry Ed," He twined his finger's within Winifred's. "But I'm going to start a new life now."

Edward looked at the twined hands and the rings shining on the fingers. "Go ahead, I don't need you around." He smiled bitterly and raised his new hand. "I've got what I need from you anyway."

"Yeah," Alfonse said turning away and taking Winifred with him. "Come on Win, we're not needed here anymore." He said farewell to Hohenheim in an exhausted and strained voice, echoed by Winifred's own slightly confused one, and the door clicked shut.

There were a few moments of silence in the apartment while father looked at son sadly and son leaned against the wall with bangs covering his eyes. Then Edward moved for the stars hesitatingly, every step weighing like a ton of steel enforced rock. Alone again.

"Perhaps you should follow them." Hohenheim suggested subtly, taking out his pipe and lighting it. "There's a saying that goes along with this I believe its 'Wound's left untreated fester,' although who exactly said it has evaded me." He looked up at Edward, who had stopped climbing the stairs and was now looking at Hohenheim with a scowl on his face.

"That's stupid. What the hell does that mean?" Edward snarled.

Hohenheim took a puff from his pipe. "I believe it means, unless you want to lose Alfonse Heidrich, chase after him." He exhaled, a line of smoke blowing through his mouth. "Not only that, I don't want to see you mope around in a cranky mood for the rest of my life."

"You bastard!" Edward scowled, stomping down the stairs and grabbing his coat, pausing for a moment with his hand on the door handle. "I'm not chasing him for the reason you think I am. We never finished the arguement, Al doesn't know what the hell he's talking about and I'm gonna shove it in his face." Edward said, rushing out of the door and down the street after Winifred and Alfonse.

Hohenheim smiled softly back inside the apartment. "My foolish stubborn son..." He chuckled. "You _are _in love, aren't you?"

_TBC..._

**Thanks for all the support guys! I meant to have this up WEEKS ago, but I had to go out of town before I knew it and this was stuck pending. Sorry about that guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter, things are starting to get more interesting! **

**I'm excited, are you excited?! 3 **

**Yes I am evil. XD **

**Please review!**

**Lots of luurve!**

**-EverKitsune**


	7. Chapter 6

**To the Stars**

**The disclaimer is in the first chapter.**

**Thanks for all the reviews!**

_Chapter Six_

The students in the Munich University were buzzing with activity. Trunks were being packed, rooms cleared of garbage and other debris. Cars pulled up in the cold, frosty air to pick up students to take them home for vacation. Buses loaded to the brim brought them to the train station. It was time for Winter holiday.

There was one person in the throng though, that did not appreciate the happy, buzzing atmosphere the students were feeling. Edward Elric pushed his way up to the front desk. His hair was bound behind him in the usual ponytail. His brown long tailored coat hung around his frame, and a scarf was draped around his shoulders, quite forgotten in his own frenzy.

"Excuse me," He called, taping his fingers on the smooth wood of the desk, liking the feel of it through his gloves.

"Yes, can I help you?" A young woman in a dark-brown business suit asked, coming up to him.

"Do you know if Alfonse Heidrich is here?"

"One moment please," She said, shifting through the messages on her desk. "I'm sorry, but no, he signed off campus earlier this morning."

"Damn it, he should have waited!" Edward cursed quietly, running an exhausted hand through his hair.

The woman looked at him with concern for a moment. "If it helps, I know that the Heidrich's always leave for their country house this time of year, to spend some quality time away from the city."

"Really?" he gasped, his golden gaze narrowing in on her in excitement. "Do you know the address?"

"One moment," She said, writing on a piece of paper. Edward could barely contain his excitement. "Here you are." Edward took the paper from her outstretched hand and clutched it tightly. "However, there have been wired reports of a heavy snow storm out in that direction all morning."

"That's fine," Edward murmured, hardly even hearing her. He thanked the woman absently and rushed out into the chilly air. He almost stumbled over the stairs as he raced down them, now in as much of a hurried frenzy as the university students around him.

He shoved the door to his home open and took the car keys from the table. Moments later he was in the car, starting it and pulling out of the drive. The engine roared, loud and obnoxious to his ears.

"Ready or not Al. Here I come."

-x-

As it turned out, driving a car was more difficult than Edward had first imagined. It was hard to figure out the controls to the vehicle, and there were so many petals under his feet that it was most confusing. A few miles out of Munich he encountered a new problem. A snow storm. It roared across his vision, and the white was so thick he could hardly see two feet in front of him.

It should not have been at all surprising when Edward hit a rut in the road and the car sputtered and died. "Shit." He hissed, opening the door and exposing himself to the harsh elements. He hated snow. Why the hell was this world so COLD?! He'd been in snow in Amestris, but it had never been this cold there. In this new world that was now his home, it was consistently cold. The food was dreary, and the place just didn't have much color. It was just so . . . insipid. That he had to live the rest of his life here was almost unbearable. That he might have to live it without Alfonse . . . that was living hell.

He'd already lost his brother (although he hadn't given up on the rocket yet), who was the closest person to him in all the worlds. Now he was stuck in this war obsessed country, with the one man whom he hated more than even Shou Tucker. Strange how Hohenheim - whose name he cursed countless times, was now his crutch in this world. The old man was far more experienced with this type of thing, and Edward supposed the man was getting his dues, rotting from his own soul.

Edward wrapped his coat around him, doing up the bottons, which he'd left undone all this time, and wrapped the scarf around his face. He stepped out and felt his boot crunch the solid snow. Hefting himself out of the vehicle, he made his way to the hood and lifted the metal cover, straining to see. Bending low to the engine, he examined the parts. Finding nothing wrong with it, he dropped to his knees in the snow and laid his face in the snow.

His cheek almost instantly numbed. He squinted at the parts beneath the car, cursing as he noticed what had happened. The gas tank had a leak and had dripped away the precious fuel. He regained his feet with a sigh, turning to the snow storm with an unpleasant look. Of course it had broken. These cars were not nearly as developed as the ones back in Amestris.

"The old man is going to murder me." Edward moaned. And of course, with the inflation, its not like Hohenheim's status in society could get them a new one for cheap. The auto business was definitely on the verge of collapse. Everything was becoming so much that no one could afford to buy anything! Even _apples_ were expensive.

The elder Elric moaned. "I really hate this world . . . " he started making his way through the storm, steadily plodding along. At least if he was moving he'd keep slightly warmer. "As long as these prosthetic joints don't freeze on me, I should be safe." Edward's voice sounded muffled behind the scarf. "This reminds me of that time Al and I had to walk to Liore." His voice choked suddenly and he looked around the blur of snow for a distraction. "But it was a desert back then . . . not . . . freezing cold." He went on, finishing the sentence. "Amestris was . . . far warmer. It seemed like every time we had to walk somewhere it ended up being either desert or some kind of plain . . . " He scowled, "The complete opposite of this freezing cold world."

He went on with his senseless tirade for a while, trying to think of warm places and not of the cold that was slowly but surely seeping through his clothes to his flesh. Soon he felt himself shivering, and he felt himself wishing he'd had a hat. His ears felt like they were about to fall off, and he found himself missing his old boots. The brown, cheap shoes that were the fashion in this world were certainly not practical in the slightest.

He lifted his hands, one was freezing, the other was bone chilling even through the fabric of his gloves, and pulled the collar of his coat up closer to his neck. He needed to find shelter. The storm had gotten even worse. The wind pulled his body everywhere and he fell more than once, losing his step on the deceiving snow-covered ground. He found the ice his new great enemy, knocking him over more than any fight with Scar ever had.

It became dark without his knowledge, as he was focusing on moving his feet steadily forward. Just when he felt he was about to collapse from exhaustion, in the distance he could just make out a driveway. Squinting, he noted a few buildings, one of them looking suspiciously like a barn. Edward felt like throwing his arms up and shouting with joy, but he didn't. Instead, he snuck off the road into a large snow drift, feeling the chill even through his already frozen fingers.

Creeping stealthily, he snuck to the side of a small shed, looking over the corner to check for any people or watch dogs that were braving the storm. No one --the coast appeared to be clear with everyone in their snug little houses. But he didn't blame them. In the darkness he could just barely make out a kerosine lamp in the downstairs window, and a very faint glow from a fire roaring in a fire place. It seemed cozy. It brought back ancient memories of his mother reading to them by the light of a fireplace during a late storm one night. If they hadn't frozen, unbidden tears might have sprung to his eyes.

No! No, he wasn't about to start getting all nostalgic now of all times. He had to get to that barn. He only hoped that these people had animals in it that needed care and a nice warm environment. Edward tucked his feet under him and dashed for the side of the wall. He tried the door, hoping that it would be unlocked, but no such luck. He circled the barn carefully, taking in the schematics. He tried all the animal stall doors, and even the great door of the barn, but no luck. They were all locked. Looking up, he saw the rope to the hay lift. The door had been left partially open, possibly for air circulation. All Edward needed to do was make his way up there.

Calculating his plan, he took the rope to the lift in both hands and pulled to test it, hoping that no loud noises would startle the farmers into coming out. After all, he was trespassing. He climbed the rope slowly, his gloves helping with the friction he needed. He swung a leg up and onto the metal bar that reached out over the ground, and pulled himself into a laying position on it. Inching is way forward, he reached the loft window and pulled it open farther and slipped inside the barn, closing the window tightly behind him before he fell into the dry hay.

For a moment he floundered senselessly, until he regained his feet and sat up in the dry grass. He looked around through the darkness. The barn smelled like Cow manure. Somewhere below him he heard the 'moo' of one of the animals. But what concerned Edward most was that it was _warm. _Whether he believed in God or not, he still felt like shouting with happiness.

But of course, he had more control than that. He flexed his digits, feeling them come to life as he lay there in the hay and sighed. It felt so good to be warm again. He pulled his hair out of a ponytail and let himself collapse into a slumber. He didn't want to do more than doze lightly, but the lack of sleep from last night had finally taken its toll, and Edward found his tired eyelids collapse from exhausted, spiriting Ed away to the world of dreams.

_Edward found himself in the lush green grasses of his childhood. The sky was a bright blue, with fluffy white clouds, instead of the grey, desolate ones he was used to. _

"_Brother!" Ed turned and immediately felt the air crushed out of him by a pair of flesh arms around his waist. "You've come back brother! I knew you would!" _

_Golden eyes wide, Edward turned to see his younger brother, Alphonse smiling down at him. He took in a sharp breath. "Al . . . " _

"_I knew you'd come back, Ed!" Alphonse beamed, hugging him. "Hehe, and, I'm still taller than you! Even without the armor!" _

_Edward suddenly felt whole again. Forget why he was there, he just __**was. **__He spluttered indignantly. "Who are you callin' the size of a pea?! You're just wearing tall shoes is all!" _

_Alphonse lifted up a fleshy pink foot and wiggled the digits of his toes. Behind them a light started to flash in the window of a home, as though someone was flicking it on and off. "Come on Ed, time for dinner!" He grasped his older brother's arm and pulled him toward the house. _

_Their house. "Al . . . what . . . ? It's our house!" _

"_Yep! Don't worry brother, everyone's going to be so glad to see you." _

"_Everybody? Who's everybody? Why aren't we going to Winry's? Al, what is going on?" Edward was starting to feel panic rise in his chest. He didn't want to go into that house. _

"_Winry's? Why would we go there? Aunty Pinako and Winry are always over at our house on Fridays, I thought you knew that Ed!" _

'_...it's the same...the same as before...' Edward's eyes had gained a haunted look as they approached the house of their childhood. The clothes were out on the line. Winry's house was down the hill, and there was the tree that he buried their mothers remains under. And there was the lantern in the window, and..._

_Edward came to a dead halt. There was Hughes, flicking the shutter open and closed. As he watched, the man smiled and gave a lazy salute, disappearing from the window. Looking down at the porch as the door opened, his breath caught in his throat as his mother stepped out of the open doorway, holding her arms open wide. "Edward, welcome home." She smiled, embracing him warmly._

_He felt his mothers arms around him, but he could only stand rigidly in her embrace. "This can't be real..." he whispered. "Your dead..." He gasped. You're all dead..." His throat tightened. _

"_Hmm, the pipsqueak can't take it." Lust's voice sounded from behind him, and he stiffened. "We thought you'd be glad to be back." She smiled, here purple eyes shone lustily. "Now you can give us our own bodies, right pipsqueak?" _

_Edward tore away from his mothers grasp, backing up a few paces in alarm. He bumped into something soft. "Roof!" Alexander barked and pounced on him, pinning him to the floor. _

"_No Alexandwer! Bad doggie!" Nina appeared, resting her hands in Alexander's fur. "Nina missed big brwother." She said, hugging him as he stood up. _

"_Nina..." Edward looked at her and all of them with haunted eyes. _

"_I say we kill him." Greed's voice grinned from somewhere to the left. But Edward couldn't move his head to see any more. Nina...why was Nina here?" _

"_Heh, your sense of fashion sure hasn't improved much pipsqueak." Envy's gloating voice sounded. _

"_I'm glad you went to that other world Edward Elric, now I don't have to kill you." Scar's voice sounded. Edward's world was starting to spin. What was up and what was down? Why were they all here? What was happening?! _

"_Edward..." Alfonse Heidrich's voice sounded hurt and subdued. "You'll never have to see me again..." _

"_Our parents want us to marry." _

"_Brother, what's wrong?" _

_The world was spinning faster. He couldn't keep his footing. The faces blended together. Why was everyone here?! They were all dead?!_

_Alphonse, are you dead too?! _

_NO! Nonononono! It can't be true! _

_No..._

"NO!" Edward screamed, sitting with a start. What if it was true? What if his brother had died, even though he sacrificed his own life? But...Edward was still alive.

Equivalent Exchange. If Ed was alive, then...the transmutation must have failed... His breath came in short gasps. He heard the wind of the storm outside and looked towards the ceiling. It was still dark. Tying his hair in a braid swiftly, without taking the care to realize, he shoved open the loft window and looked down. Wind took the door and slammed it against the side of the barn, keeping it there by force.

The metal of the hay lift shook so much that after a moments thought Edward decided that it would be safer to just make a jump for the ground. He kept all his thoughts away from the nightmare. He always had some type of nightmare every time he slept. Why was this time so violent?

The fall to the snow covered ground was brief. Edward felt snow invade his body and send chills to every point of contact. With teeth chattering, he left his shelter and carried on with his journey.

About an hour after he started walking again, the sun must have come up, because everything gained a lighter sheen. As Edward rarely saw the sun in this world, it was difficult for him to tell the time. However by noon, he found the lane that was described in the directions, and took it. He felt relief flood through him, even though his eyes were starting to blur and his bones must have ached. That wasn't so bad, as his limbs were all to numb to tell.

The address wasn't so hard to find after he'd discovered the road. He stumbled as he climbed the steps of the grand country house and fell into the deep drift of snow, to tired to catch himself. After a moment of laying there, collapsed on the porch, Edward decided that he ought to move and hauled himself to his feet. He knocked on the door and collapsed against the side of the house.

After a long pregnant pause, which Edward spent drifting between this world and the next, the door finally opened.

Edward could feel darkness closing in. But he still heard the echoing sound of Al's voice.

"Edward?" The voice brought him back to his mission.

"Al," He croaked, swimming through layers of darkness. "You don't...know what your...talking about." He murmured. "I love you...way to much to let you go." His legs buckled out from under him, sending him toppling forward. The rational part of his mind expected to slam into the hardwood floor, but soft, warm arms had caught him and held him close. He smiled as he drifted off, knowing he'd be safe finally.

**TBC...**

**Sorry this chapters rather short. I hope you can all enjoy it nonetheless. Yes, I know I forgot characters in the dream that had died, please don't point them out to me, as I already know. And yes, I know that Alphonse Elric is alive. **

**You and I may know that, but Edward does not at this current time. **

**Thank you for reading! **

**Thoughts? Comments? Please take the time to leave a review!**


	8. Chapter 7

**To the Stars**

**The disclaimer is in the first chapter.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and feedback. **

_Chapter Seven_

_Edward_ paused in his tale for the first time that night, and spared a glance at his brother. They were still sitting on the grassy hill. The moon had risen high in the sky above them, giving the world a blue sheen. The moon always reminded him of Alfonse. It was so lovely, and yet, it could be dark, and unpredictable, even blocking out the sun. He wondered if Alfonse's rockets would have even made it to the moon. But sometimes, people wonder about the most useless things. 

He wet his lips with his tongue. His mouth was dry. He adjusted his collar, unbuttoning one of the buttons. He wanted to go into town to get a drink of water or even beer. He had been avoiding Alphonse's gaze since the beginning of his story, but now that he did, he felt like crying.

Alphonse was looking at the ground, his arms wrapped around his legs. He looked so completely lost and abandoned that it might have caused Edward to break and forget about the rest of the tale. "Al?" He asked, twirling a blade of grass between his thumb and forefinger. "What is it?"

"I know what happens next," Alphonse said quietly. "I was sick at teachers house, and had gone to sleep. I know how much you pushed yourself in the storm. I also know how sick you became. Brother, I know this part of the tale, because I never forgot it, watching through Alfonse's eyes. I also know, he never told you what happened when you were sick."

Edward's breath faltered for a moment, making his breath halt a few beats. In truth, in this world, his health had always been poor. There were so many illnesses in this world, that Edward couldn't keep track of them at all. People always died here. Everyday millions of people were dying, and that was fuel for the alchemic power in Amestris. If he had stayed there, he would have logged everything he had learned.

"Anyway brother," Alphonse said, bringing his brother back on track. "I want to tell what happened when you were sick, because I know that you'll downplay the fact that you almost died that time."

Edward pulled a grin, "Ah Al, I always pull through, you shouldn't have worried about me." The words seemed like hollow echoes, even to him. There was always a chance that he could die, just like there was a chance that Alphonse could die. Ed was afraid of losing the people close to him, and it was known that he often ignored his own needs in order to make up for the trouble he caused them.

"Ed, people worry, it's just in our nature. We never blame you for worrying about us." Alphonse said, his gray eyes were wise beyond his years. Edward realized just how much he missed his brother's slate gray eyes then. The little specks of brown in them seemed to add to the wisdom. The older brother almost always felt a tinge of love, deep in his heart, for his brother. He felt pride in his heart for Alphonse, and though Edward tried to guard it well, he was terribly proud of his brother's wisdom, and how he always thought everything through so very carefully.

"Al, if you want to tell me," Edward said, both silently agreed that the story would be incomplete without the whole tale this time, "Then I think I would be glad to hear it."

Alphonse smiled, "I thought you would say that, brother." He unfolded himself from his guarded position and scooted forward until he sat next to his brother. There he stretched his legs out and looked up at the stars, smiled briefly, as thought waiting for the go-ahead from someone up above. Finally ready, he looked back down to earth, at his brother with a reassuring smile, and wove his part of the tale. 

-x-

When Edward collapsed into Alfonse's arms, the Heidrich family was mostly sleeping. The family was smaller, mostly due to the first world war, where all of his brothers had been killed fighting. Alfonse was the youngest, and consequently the only one left alive. Alfonse had an older Grandfather, who liked to sit in one chair by the fire and tell stories to his young Great-Granddaughter. His mother liked to sew and crochet during the winter, and always had knitting tools around. He also had a widowed step-sister, whom he got along with and trusted very well. She was a very strong woman, and not just in the literal sense. Her heart was as strong if not stronger than her back. 

One time, when Alfonse had been younger, and she had just entered the family, he had gotten lost in the woods beyond the field. There was pond in the woods and he had stumbled upon it. It was a large pond, and deeper than it looked. He hadn't been more than nine when he had fallen into it - clothes and all. Of course by that time, he had been gone long enough to have people searching for him. And when they heard the splashing, Fiona - as was her name - had dove in first. 

Under the water, he had mistaken her for his brother, as her grip was so incredibly strong. Of course when he learned the truth he had been shocked beyond all measure, that a girl had saved him with such strength that he remembered. 

His brother's name had been Luke. He looked a lot like Alfonse, only with a strong body, and a spirit that loved to ride horses bareback and he had a passion for carving. At the house here in the country, there were many carved figures into many surfaces of the house. Luke used to say that carving was a way to reach people deeper than you could ever express with words. When he had been gone for the war, he used to send carvings home for his family. Alfonse still had all the figurines that Luke would make for him. 

When his brother had been killed in the first world war, he had tried to give them to Fiona, but she had just waved them away and smiled at him, saying that his brother would have been so very angry with her for taking those from his brother. Then she kissed the top of his head, patted him on the shoulder, and went outside to hang up the laundry. 

It had been she who he called one stormy night to confide in her his feeling for Edward. She had of course not reacted in the way that Alfonse had expected her to, but rather she sounded completely overjoyed that he had finally found someone. She told him that Luke and her had always been upset that he didn't seem to be interested in anyone at all, but they had put it off as an obsession with rocketry. They had coined the expression 'Married to your work' many a time as a phrase of comfort, using that as an excuse as to why Alfonse would not find anyone at all. 

His family had taken the news of his illness extremely hard, but it had been her who told him about life being worth living, and how just sitting around like 'a bump on a log' was useless, because you could die any day of your life, and it could turn out that the illness, could be the least of his worries. Every day was a new adventure, in which you lived your hardest, because it could be the very last day of your life. And then she had raced him and her daughter to the door of the house, and beaten them all. 

Alfonse came back to the present with a whoosh of cold air from outside. Edward was in his arms, and the door was wide open. He kicked it shut with his foot. Edward's golden hair was shining in the early morning light. He was freezing cold, the prosthetic arm against his skin sent chills down his spine. Al squeezed him tightly as though assuring himself that Edward was really there. He brushed the hair from his face and gave him a kiss on the cheek, just to make sure it was really his. Alfonse had been afraid of never seeing him again. Now he was there, in his arms, and whatever they had been fighting about before Al had left for the country house was forgotten. 

Urgency tugged at him, and he struggled to bear Edward up the stairs and into his bed. Somehow he managed, although he wasn't exactly quiet about it, Edward was soon tucked between the mattress and the blankets of his bed. 

He watched Edward breathe for a long moment. Gently, he tilted Edward's head forward and took out the ponytail so that his golden hair was splayed on the pillow. He pressed him back ever-so-gently against the pillow, and kissed Edwards rather hot forehead. 

The next thing Alfonse did was to dash down the hall to Fiona's room and barely restrain himself from bursting into the room before knocking. 

"Come in." Fiona's charmingly calm voice came from the other side of the carved door (carved by his brother once upon a time). 

Al burst through the door and his words came out of his mouth in a barely contained flood. "Edward'sherehefaintedyoujustcomequicklyIthinkhehasafeverbuthe'shere!" He gasped, ending the phrase with a coughing fit. 

Fiona blinked her dark brown hair out of her brilliantly blue eyes and offered Alfonse a drink. After he drank the water down, he pulled his hands through his hair stressfully for an instant before he looked at her again. "Fiona, Edward is here." 

"Edward?" Her eyes flashed as she remembered who he was. "Here? How?" 

Alfonse moaned, "I think he walked. But I think he caught a chill." He led her to his room, barely giving her time to grab her robe before he dashed back to the Elric's side. "He's burning up, and when I opened the door, he collapsed on me. I think he was caught in that blizzard last night." 

Fiona put her palm on Edward's forehead and took his pulse with her other hand. "He has a fever." She said calmly. 

"He has a weak immune system." Al said quietly, on the other side of the bed. Worry was eating at his insides, and he wrung his wrists unconsciously. 

Fiona was busy wetting a cloth using Alfonse's water bowl and placing it on Edward's forehead. "I'll go down to the kitchen to make him soup. Al, I trust you do not want to leave his side." She didn't wait for an answer, but left the room, closing the door behind her as she left. 

Alfonse gripped Edward's hand through the time that the foreigner was unconscious, which ended up being a whole week. During this time, Alfonse barely moved, breathed, spoke or ate without being at Edward's side, and the only time he did leave was to make a mad dash for the bathroom or to make a quick call to Munich to check on Winifred. 

One night, Edward's fever started to deadly levels, and so Al found himself slipping under the covers with him, to absorb some of that heat. Edward's body was slick with sweat, and the young man was shivering, although his body was boiling hot. Alfonse lay intertwining their legs as he lay as close to him as possible. He had just entered a slight dose, when Ed had started murmuring in his sleep. 

"Al..." He gasped, his head turning to the side. "I'm sorry b-brother. I should have s-saved you. I failed..." He rasped, his hand gripped Alfonse's shoulder. "It wasn't supposed to...end up...this way..." Edward's voice was raspy. "I wa-wasn't supposed to survive...I c-cant bring you back brother." A great shudder ran up his body. "I failed y-you." 

The next morning, Edward's fever had decreased dramatically, and Alfonse's mother finally came to him and asked him why Edward had appeared. 

"He's just a friend mother." Alfonse said, his mouth dry. "He was a student at the University with me." 

"_Was?"_ The woman asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He left, he said that they didn't teach it right. He's to brilliant for his own good sometimes." Alfonse smiled faintly. 

"But what is he doing here?"

"We fought," Alfonse said slowly. "Before I left, I said that I didn't want to see him ever again. I suppose he took it to seriously. There was a bit of turmoil over my engagement with Winnie." 

"Oh, I see." His mother nodded. "And he came to make it up to you am I right son?" 

"Yes mother." Alfonse said quietly. 

"He does not seem like a genius to me. He seems like a fool." 

"Yes mother, he is a fool." 

After that, Mrs. Heidrich did not bother her only son anymore, having discovered what she wanted. She busied herself with her crochet and speaking with her mother about the weather and gossip tidbits. 

Alfonse himself went on repeating the words in his head. He was deep in his thoughts when Edward suddenly took a turn for the worst. He called for Fiona frantically as Edward started coughing harshly. His skin simply burned to the touch, and Al found himself surprised that his hands did not have burn marks on them. 

"We need to give him an ice bath." Fiona stated after rushing in to take charge of the situation. 

"A-Al," Edward's voice tore from the mouth of the sick young man. "Al it hurts." He gasped, reaching out. Al caught his hands in his own, and held them securely.

"I'm right here Ed." 

"Brother." Edward croaked out. "I thought you were dead." His eyes closed again, and his head drooped back down. Alfonse felt his heart sink in his chest. Even in a delirium, all Edward thought of was his younger brother, who somehow shared the same name. 

He bit his tongue and started stripping Edward of his clothes. Fiona had returned back into the room and the two of them managed to carry him to the bathroom, where they laid him down in the tub, which was full of chunks of ice. 

Edward whimpered in his sleep, his body shaking violently from the cold. He hadn't started talking again, which Al took as both a good and a bad sign. That night, around four in the morning, Edward's fever finally broke and he was on the way to recovery. 

Alfonse had thrown the window curtain back to let in the pale sunlight. He was sitting in the chair next to the bed, curled up and reading from a book. Edward's eyes opened and he watched him read for the longest time. 

It seemed so beautiful. The sunlight playing on the light blonde hair, and sending a sparkle into those lovely ocean blue eyes. "Have you ever been to the sea Al?" He asked suddenly, his voice cracking slightly from thirst. 

Alfonse jumped, the book tumbling to the floor. He rushed forward, a smile splitting his face in two, brighter than the very sun outside. "Edward!" He gasped, amazed. "How are you feeling?" 

"Thirsty and hungry, and down right sore." Edward retorted. "You have no idea how hard it is to_ find _you." 

Alfonse laughed. "No doubt less difficult than it is trying to keep you alive Ed. You are a magnet for trouble." 

Edward smiled uneasily and put his hand on Alfonse's pale one. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble Al." He pushed himself up. "How about I take you to the sea sometime, to make up for it?" 

"Or you can kiss me." Al stated, leaning in. Edward turned his head so that Al would get his cheek instead. He fingered the ring on Al's ring finger. 

"What about Winifred?" 

"It doesn't matter." Alfonse said. "It is my life." _And I don't have as long as the two of you. _"Please." He leaned in to kiss him, and this time Edward didn't turn away. 

**TBC...**

**Sorry for the late update. I have been extremely unmotivated for the past few months. **

**How many people would like me to do a sequel of sorts after To The Stars is completed? **


End file.
